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Zaakirah Muhammad
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S
survivor.
For the longest time, I limited
myself. I never put much emphasis on the word Survivor.
It took a really long time to connect the dots that survivor
…is actually a positive thing. I made it through something
…something really difficult, something really rare. I was so
focused on the negativity, because, that’s what the light was
shined upon—I have disabilities; vision disabilities, hearing
disabilities, which could lead to other disabilities, even death.
But there is so much more to life than focusing on that.
My name is Zaakirah; in Arabic it means the hereafter. I
was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 20, 1992,
almost four weeks prematurely.
When I was nine months
old, I was diagnosed with
Retinoblastoma. Shortly after,
my right eye was surgically
removed. Since then I have
had a prosthetic eye. As a
result of chemotherapy, I lost
my hearing, resulting in a
mild hearing loss, declining
to this day, so I also wear
hearing aids in both ears.
ART
My mother celebrated my
birthday every year, even
if there was a year I did not
want to. It was a reminder
that I was special, that I had
greater purpose, and that
my life is worth valuing. It
wasn’t until I chose to tell
people, the right people, that
I am a cancer survivor. Then
I started hearing loving phrases like “You are so inspiring,”
“You are a miracle” “You are amazing,” and then it clicked:
My purpose in life is to inspire.
I have a voice that I have utilized through my photography.
With a camera, I allow those in my life and around the world
to see life and humanity through my eye. At six years old,
my first camera was a Kodak Polaroid. From there, nothing
could stop me from photographing everything, everyone,
and every place I went. By the time I attended high school
and chose the Commercial Photography technical program,
I was introduced to a whole new world of photography and
cameras. As a youth, I started with travel and landscape
photography; it worked well with my introverted-ness. Prior
to high school I considered going to school for psychology,
social work or something similar. However, discovering that
there are careers within the field of photography that do not
subject people to nudity all the time, or always altering their
appearances in Photoshop afterwards, I decided to study
portrait/professional photography. I always connected well
with people, so it was perfect. Along the way, I received
opportunities to photograph at star-studded events.
My parents always made
sure I believed that there is a
bigger world out there than the
world we live in. It was not
until high school that I received
my first opportunity to travel
out of country to really see
that for myself; before, I was
close minded about expanding
travels due to thoughts of not
being safe, because of my
disabilities or because of the
types of people in this world.
The first country I visited was
Costa Rica, with a group for
deaf, hard of hearing, and sign
language enthusiasts. That was
such a great experience and I
felt so comfortable, it opened
up another opportunity for me.
Shortly after that I travelled as
a student ambassador on a two
week European tour through the United Kingdom, France
and Italy. The most life changing travel experience was when
I went to Ghana after high school, for two months in the
summer on a volunteer service trip; our group stayed with a
homestay family.
With every trip, there were plenty of difficulties with
hearing; adjusting to different climates that affect the hearing
aids and batteries, being in various situations, moving too
quickly, misplacement of the hearing aid, feeling left out,
and feeling scared and uncertain being in loud environments.
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